Overcoming fear gets easier the more you try (Distinguished Young Women Daily Diary)

Editor's note:Distinguished Young Women contestants each year submit diary entries
to the Press-Register throughout the competition. The best entry of the
day will be printed, and one overall winner will be chosen for a $1,000
scholarship provided by the newspaper. Thursday's winner is Samantha Vazquez
of Illinois.

I believe in living life without fear. I believe sometimes the smallest things we must confront will define us — that in those definitions we can cling to a crazy hope that we are the better for what we seem to have so insignificantly conquered.

My experience at Camp Grace was not only time to bond with the other Distinguished Young Women participants, but also a learning experience that helped test my abilities and courage.

I learned how others can have such a huge influence on one and also how to truly inspire myself. After my experience on the perilous lines of the high-ropes course, I feel I can do anything.

I do not know about you, but hanging from a wire by only a rope, 50 feet in the air, does not sound like too much fun to me, let alone safe. I have always been a roller coaster junkie and have even ridden the tallest and fastest roller coaster in the world, but nothing seemed to matter once I attempted to conquer the course.

I’m not going to lie, I was terrified. Not only that, but I was crying like a baby just climbing up. Something about a rope and clip supporting my weight just didn’t sit well with me.

After I got to the top, it was amazing what happened next.

I believe the ability to trust and be open-minded is essential to one’s thoughts. Without the participation of each and every member, the entire group will fall — literally. To many, teamwork holds the connotation of involvement in a physical sport, however, the true meaning is within the individuals.

Fearing to face the unknown or rely on another will hinder life. It took me six girls, two hours, and one crazy hope to truly understand this.

Sometimes fear lingers in the background waiting for my guard to carelessly be let down. After this experience, my fear doesn’t exist anymore.

Living without fear is not what I’m after, but rather, living in spite of it. Instead of banishing fear, the challenge becomes moving forward even when the path is shrouded in uncertainty.

This is what the entire Distinguished Young Women program is about. It’s about overcoming obstacles and learning to always fight for your dreams and aspirations. Unfortunately, I cannot tell you exactly how to overcome fear, but I know it gets easier every time that I try.